Silent Hill: Reborn From The Ashes
by philosophical zombie
Summary: "What do they want?" Phoenix asked with teary eyes. - Esmee looked back to the corpse on her floor, "I don't know." She whispered.
1. Chapter 1

**Guess what! I watched Silent Hill: Revelation and it was pretty fucking awesome (or at least it was in my opinion). So… yeah. Silent Hill fanfic.**

* * *

**19 JUNE 2004**

It was the biggest storm of the year in Haven, Maine.

Esmee Danvers sat quietly in her living room, waiting for the power to come back on. She leaned back comfortably against her sage green couch, reading an old book my candle light.

The rain cascaded over the windows of her brookstone house, creating the enhanced projection of their shape on her carpet.

A year ago, Esmee inherited the paid-off house from her aunt who had died in the early months. 'A gift, now that you are responsible enough,' as it was stated in the will. Because she had been emancipated at seventeen, Esmee was a bit of a drifter, moving from a friend's house, to another's. When she first moved in to the house, she didn't know what to do. It was so large compared to her. The entire house was empty, save for the queen size bed in the master bedroom, a large couch, two full bookshelves, and an old television from the eighties accompanied with a working VCR and a few movies that Esmee used to watch when she was visiting as an infant.

Although it still felt too big for her, it had become her safe haven.

Now, the living room also had an old oak coffee table, given to her as a birthday present from a friend, which joined the couch, bookshelves, and television. Her dining room was also slightly furnished with a table and three chairs. Her bedroom had a desk and nightstand that joined the queen sized bed. Even one of the guest bedrooms was furnished, including a bed, nightstand, and a dresser. It still wasn't much, but it was home.

Esmee gently set her book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, down on the coffee table in front of her and reached for her mug of tea.

Her cinnamon brown eyes scanned the living room in the darkness. It was elegant, basked in the faint candle light. She threw her blonde braid over her left shoulder and took another sip of tea.

She nearly choked on the liquid when she heard a fast knocking on her front door.

She gulped, regulating her breathing, and jogged to it.

When she had unlocked it, Esmee was greeted by a young girl, who looked as if she had been caught in a fire.

The little girl's hair was as black as the sky, and her eyes were ice blue. She was short, appearing to be about seven or eight. Her dress looked like it was supposed to be navy blue, but soot and ash covered the vast majority of the fabric. Around the collar, looked like it was once white, but had also been affected by some kind of fire.

For a moment, Esmee couldn't speak. She was in shock.

It suddenly hit her that this was a lone child, whose hair was still singed, standing in the rain.

In a rush, words began spilling out of Esmee's mouth.

"Come here, sweetie. Um, where are your parents? Do you need me to call a doctor-"

"Esmee…" her voice sounded like a grown woman's.

The older girl stopped speaking.

"Do not ever let this body enter Silent Hill."

"I… I don't understand." Esmee spoke quietly.

The little girl stepped to her right, only it looked like her body and spirit separated. Another little girl stood where the other once had. She looked to be the same girl, only she wasn't burned. Her dress was untouched by any flame. Her hair, instead of singed and black, was dark brown and appeared to have a silky texture. Her eyes were still the same shade, only they seemed more innocent and child-like.

The new girl didn't move or speak. She was as still as a mannequin. Like a blank slate.

"I pray that you never have to understand, Esmee Danvers." The burned girl backed away, and almost immediately, the new girl's eyes began fluttering, as if she were waking up. However, instead of waking up, her eyes shut, and she toppled forward into Esmee's arms.

Esmee caught her and held the small girl in her arms. "Who are you?"

"I am her. Alessa Gillespie. The Order doesn't know her whereabouts or yours, so change her name and hide her."

"But-"

"And never let her go to Silent Hill."

With that, Alessa Gillespie backed away into the rain, disappearing.

Esmee stood at the door with the girl in her arms, in utter confusion.

After a moment of thinking and rethinking, Esmee scooped the girl into a cradle position and ran inside where it was dry and warm.

After shutting the door with her foot, Esmee immediately set the girl on the couch and examined her.

_Am _I_ going to take care of her? I'm only eighteen... I have a job and I can barely support myself!_

Esmee began pacing out of habit, wondering what had just happened to her.

_Silent Hill? The resort town? Please, that place is as intimidated as a cup of green tea…_

She stopped in her place and looked at the little girl. She was still sound asleep.

Esmee quickly dashed up the stairs to grab her laptop, and ran back down.

Carefully sitting next to the sleeping child, she opened the computer and began searching the web for Silent Hill.

She clicked a link from Wikipedia, reading everything she had already known. The town had been burned to hell and back in the mid-20th century after a fire in a hotel that spread across the entire town.

When the fire reached the mines, the entire place went tits up in no short order, thus the town being condemned, pretty much.

Esmee sighed in frustration, not being able to find anything of use, or anything she didn't know beforehand.

Her eyes drifted to the girl who suddenly started stirring in her sleep.

She looked so peaceful; Esmee was actually jealous. She couldn't remember the last time she had a deep, fulfilling slumber.

When the girl woke up, Esmee was scared shitless.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked, looking around frantically.

"Uh… My house." That was the best response Esmee could come up with.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Esmee Danvers. What is yours?"

The girl fell silent. Tears began forming at her eyes in fear.

"Oh, sweetie, don't cry!" Esmee said almost panicking. She carefully reached for the girl, hugging her.

To Esmee's surprise, the girl hugged back, tightly as if she was her only protector.

After so long, the little girl's crying was reduced to sniffles.

"Can I stay here with you, Esmee?" she asked.

Esmee nodded, "Of course, sweetheart."

She was silent again, "Esmee, what is my name?"

The older one sighed, "I don't know. What names do you like?"

"I… I don't know."

Esmee let the girl go, and stood. "Come with me." She took her hand and led her to the kitchen.

Esmee's kitchen was larger than she liked. The vast amount of empty space made her feel lonely at times. It was still painted the same warm colours her aunt painted over a decade ago.

The little girl sat at the dining table as she was told while Esmee approached the tea kettle which was still warm.

As she poured a cup of raspberry tea, the little girl began speaking.

"I had a dream." She said.

Esmee sat down and pushed the mug of tea towards her, "Really? About what?"

The little girl sipped the tea and appeared as if she were recalling the events of the dream. "I was surrounded by a bunch of grown-ups who were wearing black. They were saying something over and over again, tying my wrists and ankles to some big circle." She looked frightened as she recalled the last moments of her dream. "Then there were flames all around me…"

Esmee took her hand, "If you don't want to continue, you don't have to."

The little girl sniffed and nodded.

"Hey, what do you think of the name 'Phoenix'?" Esmee inquired.

"It's really pretty… Are you saying that should be my name?"

The slight excited expression crossed the little girl's face, making Esmee laugh.

"If you want it to be; do you know what a phoenix does?"

She shook her head and took another drink of the tea.

"When a phoenix is ready to pass on, it burns up, faster than anything," the little girl's eyes grew wide for a moment. "But then, it is reborn from its ashes into a new baby phoenix."

"Wow…"

Esmee smiled, "Like it?"

She nodded, "Can my name be Phoenix Danvers?"

Esmee was a little shocked that she wanted the same surname as herself, but she nodded.

Phoenix Danvers smiled widely, but yawned. The crying from earlier and the warm tea had tired her greatly.

"Let me show you to your room." Esmee said and took the mug to the sink.

Finding Phoenix sleepwear was a little difficult.

Esmee wasn't a large woman; quite the opposite, actually. But Phoenix was a child, and almost nothing of Esmee's fit her.

Eventually, Esmee located an old white shirt that had once belonged to her ex-boyfriend. It fit her like a really big shirt, but on Phoenix, it was the equivalent of a dress.

Esmee sat next to Phoenix while she lied in bed.

"Do you remember anything at all?" she asked.

Phoenix shook her head, "Nothing…"

Esmee nodded, "Well, maybe it'll all come back to you in the morning."

Phoenix yawned again, and after she closed her eyes, she whispered something.

"Goodnight, Esmee. Thank you."

Esmee felt her heart warmed by her words, "Goodnight, Phoenix. Sweet dreams."

As the young one drifted to a deep slumber, Esmee slowly stood, turned off the light, and left the bedroom door cracked so that she could hear if Phoenix needed her.

Esmee felt herself becoming tired, but she remembered the burned girl from earlier that evening.

Making sure she was out of earshot –mainly so she wouldn't wake Phoenix– Esmee pulled out her cell phone and dialled as she made her way down the stairs.

As it was ringing, Esmee pulled out a pen and piece of paper, writing down little girl's new name, thinking of a middle name that would fit with it.

"_Ezzy, Satan better be at your fucking house if you're calling me this late…"_ a man on the other line grumbled unhappily.

Esmee looked at the clock, realizing that it was three in the morning. _Shit…_

"Um, Ian, do you still make fake birth certificates, IDs, and shit like that?" Esmee asked.

"_Why, you running away to Vegas? I'll go pack-"_

"No, Ian, um… Can you come by my house at noon, tomorrow?"

"_Sure, what's up?_

"It's hard to explain over the phone. See you tomorrow."

"_Wait, Esmee-"_

Esmee hung up, her hands trembling when she realized that what happened to her was something that didn't have a scientific or even logical explanation. _How_ was she going to explain this to Ian Morris?

'Hi Ian, I was reading a book when this burned ghost girl named Alessa Gillespie, appeared on my doorstep, duplicated herself, and gave me the living human version of herself and told me to never let her anywhere near Silent Hill. So, I don't know if this kid was even born in this century, or if her parents are alive, but so that these people from some organization called 'The Order' don't find her, can you make a fake _everything_, while including that I'm in custody of her?' _Yeah, that would definitely work…_ Esmee thought sarcastically.

It then dawned on Esmee that Ian probably thought the fucking mafia was after her considering her vague explanation over the phone.

She found herself pacing once more, back and forth on her carpet.

She stopped.

There was something odd about this.

Yes, Silent Hill was dangerous because of the fires still deep in the mines. But what was the Order? And why did they pose a threat to Phoenix… or Alessa? Trying to work everything out with as little of an explanation she had been given was making her dizzy.

She plopped down to her couch and held her head in her hands. "It's too goddamn late for this."

After sitting there for a moment, Esmee stood and walked quietly up the stairs.

She peeked into Phoenix's room, satisfied when seeing her sleeping soundly.

She yawned and headed towards her own bedroom.

Esmee's bedroom was her favourite room in her entire house. The walls were grey and comforting. The ceiling arched, making it feel shorter, but longer. The black drapes kept the lights from the street lamps from reaching inside, something she was always pleased with considering that the damn street lamp kept her up before she bought the drapes. Beside Esmee's desk were several pictures tacked to the wall.

Esmee discarded her clothes, save for her underwear and bra, and searched for her sweat shorts and tank top.

Once dressed in her nightclothes, she hopped onto her bed and shut off the lamp on the nightstand.

She didn't realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow, because she was asleep immediately.

* * *

"_NOOOOO!"_

Esmee leapt from her bed and threw the comforter aside, freeing her legs from its warmth. Clumsily, she jerked her door open and ploughed straight into Phoenix's.

The child was screaming as if she were being greeted by Death himself.

"Shh, Phoenix, I'm here." The older woman made an attempt to comfort her.

"I felt the fire!" Phoenix sobbed. "I felt it!" she began breathing erratically, clutching the fabric of Esmee's tank top for dear life.

As Esmee rocked back and forth with her in her arms, Phoenix calmed down and suddenly fell back to sleep.

The blonde sat in confusion as she slept in her arms.

Esmee slowly set her back on her bed and covered her with the pale blue comforter. She stood there for a second, making sure that everything was alright.

She turned on her heel and walked back to her bedroom.

Her bedroom suddenly felt uncomfortably hot. Esmee opened the drapes, being assaulted by the dim morning light. When she opened the window, a pleasant breeze greeted her.

She inhaled the fresh air and turned to her bed.

The alarm clock on the nightstand told her that it was six-thirty. Esmee crawled back on her bed, and though it was comfortable enough to sleep, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Seconds turned to minutes as more light came pouring from the window. By the time Esmee had left her bed again, it was seven, and people were going to work.

She slipped out of her shorts and into her last pair of clean jeans. She needed to do the laundry. Esmee grabbed a black cardigan to go over her grey tank top and began picking up various articles of clothing she planned on throwing into the washer. She balanced the hamper on her hip and quietly entered Phoenix's room.

She was pleased when she saw the child sleeping as if nothing had happened.

_It might be a case of night terrors…_

Esmee picked up Phoenix's clothes and tossed them into the hamper.

Once again, she glanced towards her, just to make sure that she was alright.

As Esmee left her bedroom, her phone started buzzing in her pocket.

Quickly, she made her way to the laundry room before answering.

"Hello?"

"_Listen, Ezzy, I've got something coming up this afternoon. Is it okay if I come over right now?"_

Esmee bit her lip; she didn't have anything to do.

"Sure, I guess."

"_Expect me in ten minutes."_

Esmee shoved her phone back in the pocket and dumped the clothes into the washer. After starting the machine, she quietly walked down the stairs and to the kitchen.

Usually whenever Ian would visit, Esmee would make a pot of coffee for him.

She sat quietly on the couch until she heard a knock on the door.

She stood and greeted Ian.

Ian Morris was a tall man in his mid-twenties. His hair was the colour of red clay, which accentuated the green in his hazel eyes. His bones were somewhat visible, giving him a skeletal appearance.

Esmee hugged her old friend and handed him a mug of black coffee.

"You know me too well, Ezzy." He smiled, "So what's the problem? Why do you need a new identity?"

Esmee hesitated before answering. "It's not me who needs it."

"_Esmee?"_

Ian and Esmee looked up to the staircase, seeing Phoenix standing idly.

Esmee turned back to him, "It's for her."

* * *

"So you're telling me that Phoenix just… appeared on your doorstep?"

"No, another little girl did. Her name was Alessa Gillespie." Esmee reiterated.

"… Who looked exactly like her?"

"Yes."

"And then… she split herself in half?"

"Not exactly, it's like, her spirit stepped out of her own body."

Phoenix sat close to Esmee as she explained the previous night's events.

Ian sat back, processing everything he heard.

"So… how high were you last night?"

"_Dammit,_ Ian, listen to me. This happened. I saw it with my own eyes." Esmee argued.

Phoenix clung to Esmee's arm like she was her mother.

"Okay, have you tried to call the authorities? Maybe they have records on this little girl."

"Ian, Silent Hill's fire happened decades ago. All you will find if you type in Alessa's name into a search engine is a list of people caught in the accident."

Ian sighed and rubbed his temples. "Fine. If this 'Order' is really out to get this kid, I'll make this for her. What's her full name?" he asked as he pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Phoenix Danvers."

"Middle name?"

Esmee looked to the little girl, "Do you want a middle name?"

Phoenix looked into her cinnamon eyes, "What was the leaf you put in my tea last night?"

"Rosemary."

"Can that be my middle name?" her blue eyes lit up.

Esmee laughed, "I guess so."

Ian spoke as he was writing, "Phoenix Rosemary Danvers. Alright, got it. Age?"

"Seven or eight…"

"So, let's just put her birthday as the 19th of June, 1996. Mother and father?"

Esmee bit her lip, wondering if what she was about to say could lead to any trouble.

"Is it possible to put 'unknown'?"

Ian sighed, "It could be possible. Legal guardian?"

Phoenix looked at Esmee, "Can you be my legal guardian?"

Esmee was surprised, "Yes, of course."

* * *

Three weeks had passed by since Phoenix had first arrived to Esmee's house.

The two were beginning to settle into a daily routine. Esmee would wake up at nine, make breakfast for both of them and then wake up Phoenix. From nine-thirty to eleven, Esmee would help Phoenix with home-schooling and then get ready to go to work at twelve thirty. Phoenix finishes the rest of her schoolwork and either reads, surfs the internet, or watches a couple of movies that Ian had brought for the two. Phoenix then showers while Esmee makes dinner when she gets home at six. They eat, hang out, and talk about their day and then wind down for the night. Esmee would shower just before bed and then tuck in Phoenix and go to bed herself.

It was Tuesday, and Phoenix had finished her schoolwork early.

She toyed with the fabric of her electric blue pyjama shorts; Esmee had bought her some new clothes, like jeans and shirts. She even bought her a shirt that matched her pyjama shorts.

Normally, she would have already latched to Esmee's laptop, reading every current event, even if she didn't understand why they happened.

She felt a strange sensation in her stomach. It wasn't nausea, but it wasn't excitement. It was panic.

Her breathing quickened and the god awful feeling of being watched overcame her. She pushed the laptop to the other side of the couch and brought her knees to her chest.

Her head began to hurt. The pain became so strong that she almost started crying.

Everything disintegrated.

Pieces of the floor ripped off like fabric; everything became rusty or bloody, and a loud siren played so loud, Phoenix thought her eardrums would bust.

She remained still.

The pain left.

The siren stopped.

_What's going on?!_

Phoenix examined her surroundings carefully; touching the ground with her feet. She felt a thick goo-like substance covering the hardwood floor. _Ugh, it's blood!_

She saw people robed in black, walking towards her, slowly.

_Flames._

Phoenix shook her head and fell into the foetal position.

_It's just a dream._

Closer and closer they came to her.

_They can't hurt me._

The scraping sound of metal upon concrete made Phoenix cover her ears.

_It's just a dream…_

Flames surrounded her.

"_GO AWAAAY!"_

"PHOENIX!"

Phoenix sat up. She was back in her house. Everything was normal, save for the fact that Esmee was running to her. Groceries were on the floor where the door was left open.

Esmee was cradling her, "What happened?"

"It was so real…" she sobbed. "I felt the blood on the floor! I felt the flames around me!"

* * *

"Ian, something was wrong."

The two adults were in the dining room, drinking coffee. The evening light poured from the windows, basking the room in a yellow light that created a warm glow on Esmee's pale skin.

"Well, you said she had night terrors…"

"Yeah, but she said that it felt real. How many nightmares have you had where you could feel coagulated blood? Or flames that are about to swallow you whole? And besides, Phoenix was wide awake when this was happening." Esmee held her head in her hands.

Ian acted as if he were about to speak, only to be interrupted by the doorbell.

"Hmm, I'm not expecting company…"Esmee raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's Miss Henderson from next door? She's probably bringing that measuring cup back from this afternoon…"

A rather small man, close to Esmee's height was at the doorway. "Hi, my car's broken down. Can I use your phone?"

Esmee closed the door behind him and pointed the way to her landline.

The man didn't move.

"Are you alright-"

He tackled her to the stairs.

"IAN!" she cried for her friend's assistance.

Ian dashed from the dining room and to the entrance hall. In spite of his size, like most men when adrenaline is pumping through his veins, he is unstoppable.

He pulled the strange man off of Esmee and dodged the knife he was swinging frantically.

He caught the man in his wrist and pried his fingers off the blade.

The knife dropped to Esmee's feet and she grabbed it immediately.

When the man began choking Ian, she plunged the knife into his back. He thrashed at Esmee, knocking her against the wall.

Ian had the upper hand; he yanked the knife out of its place, and when the man turned to attack Ian, Ian shoved the knife into his heart.

The strange man fell to his knees and on to the carpet.

Phoenix ran down the stairs to see what the commotion was. "What happened?!" She stopped dead when she saw the edge of the tattoo on his chest.

"What? What is it?" Esmee looked at the frightened girl.

"I've seen that before!" Tears began falling to her cheeks.

"Where, where have you seen it?" Esmee approached her as Phoenix sat on the stairs.

"In my dream… That was what they burned me on."

Ian ripped the man's shirt and exposed the rest of the tattoo.

"The Halo of the Sun." Phoenix spoke automatically. "That's what they called it in my dream."

"From three weeks ago?" Esmee asked.

Phoenix only nodded.

"The Order." Ian spoke, standing upright.

Esmee bit her lip, "Ian, I need you to do me a favour or two."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Still want to move out of that shitty apartment?"

"Hell yeah, I do."

"Good, because you're going to make new identities for me and Phoenix."

Ian was dumbstruck. "What? Why?"

"This isn't safe for Phoenix anymore. It's obvious that the Order would do anything…"

"What are you going to do if this happens again? You'd have to find someone else to make a new identity."

Esmee frowned, "Well someone has to watch this place. It's been in our family since my great grandmother moved here from England."

"I can have my sister move in and house sit for a while." He said. "Let me come with you."

Esmee looked to Phoenix, who was tightly holding her.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but you may have to change your name." Esmee said solemnly and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"What do they want?" Phoenix asked with teary eyes.

Esmee looked back to the corpse on her floor, "I don't know." She whispered.

* * *

**WOOT. That was a lot more than I usually write for one chapter, much less a prologue. So yeah, this is sort of similar to the movie I just watched for the third time. There were some things I have criticism on, but other than that, I enjoyed the movie even after playing some of the games (or just reading the Silent Hill Wiki or other fanfictions…)**

**So I hope you guys enjoyed the preface to Reborn from the Ashes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**16 JUNE 2013**

"Why Brenna?" the teen girl asked as she finished massaging the colouring chemical into her hair. She had matured into a beautiful young woman of sixteen (soon to be seventeen). Her ice-blue eyes still held the same naivety they held nine years before. Her facial features were somewhat soft, giving her a childish appearance. Her eyes drifted to three-inch scar on her left shoulder. The white shine from the cheap bathroom light made the scar contrast heavily against her pale skin.

"Brenna was my aunt's name." An older woman replied. She was twenty-seven and also had hair dye massaged into her roots. After seeing her hair dyed brunette, she intended on keeping it that colour. Her cinnamon eyes were more mature and judgmental. Hell, after many years of not being able to trust anyone but two other people, tended to harsh someone's outlook on society. The stress of raising a teenager with frequent night terrors to dealing with random assaults by strangers had taken a bit of a toll on her. The beginnings of frown lines were becoming more apparent than she liked to admit.

The older woman looked at her, "You can change it if you want to."

The teenager shook her head, "No, Brenna is pretty. I was kind of hoping I could use an old name."

"Which one?"

"Phoenix. The first one you gave me." Brenna smiled at the older woman.

She laughed, "I'd love to say yes, but you know that it's not a good idea." Her eyes grew a little sad.

Brenna sighed, understanding her reasoning. She looked at her, "Where did _Renee_ come from?"

"Renee was the name of my sister." She replied.

Brenna looked to the ground, "I'm gonna go wash this out now. I've always wondered what red would look like on me." Brenna looked back to her, "I love you Mom."

Renee smiled, "I love you too." She replied and headed to her own shower to wash out the chemicals.

As Brenna discarded her clothing and entered the shower, she felt a nervous feeling nagging her. _You'd think I'd get used to new schools…_

She stifled a yawn and continued with her usual shower routine. Shampoo, wash body, face, shave, etc.

What excited Brenna was to see the new colour of her hair. Ever since she cut it short –to her shoulders– she had always wondered about the colour.

She stepped out of the shower and wiped at the fogged mirror.

A face starred back, only… it didn't look like a face.

It was the same shape and colour, but the skin where her eyes, nose, and mouth were supposed to be was cut out, using the skin from her forehead to be stretched and stitched to place.

Brenna closed her eyes and shook the image from her mind. _It's not real… It can't hurt me…_

When she opened them again, she saw herself. Normal. Everything was where it was supposed to be.

She sighed in relief, glancing at the shade of red that could already be seen in spite of it being wet. Brenna made a weak smile. _Maybe I'll finish out the year…_ She dried herself off and tossed on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

She wished her parents an early goodnight, saying that she was already tired.

Brenna glanced around her entire room. It was unfamiliar to her, much like her last bedroom was. She shrugged off the feeling and began unpacking. She didn't really want to, but Renee had asked her to do it. Brenna didn't see a point though. Why bother unpacking when she'll just have to repack later?

She lazily placed clothes into her drawers. Again, why bother keeping them in a nice and neat order when they'll be shoved into moving boxes?

Although it had been nine years, Brenna missed the pale blue painted bedroom she first slept in.

Brenna fell to her bed, feeling the beginnings of slight curls at the tips of her hair. Her tired eyes drifted from the alarm clock back to her ceiling, wondering what it was like to be able to go out at night with friends without worrying about fanatics.

She shrugged it off. _I'm just content with Esmee and Ian…_

Her arm slung itself to her nightstand to turn off her lamp. Once shrouded by darkness, Brenna felt her eyelids drooping, dragging her down into slumber.

* * *

_The walls of the circus tents wouldn't stay still._

_Clumsily, Brenna ran through what appeared to be an amusement park._

_She glanced behind her; the black robed individuals were hot on her trail._

_Brenna hid behind a mini-game booth, seeing the robed people pass by her._

_She sighed in relief and turned to her right, to be greeted by a knife held by a nurse._

_The nurse's face was covered with bloodied gauze that almost looked like a mask. She had no hair, only a nurse's cap that had fallen as she attacked Brenna._

_Her arm's flailed as she attempted to block every assault by the nurse until finally; the knife was plunged into Brenna's chest._

_She screamed, but no sound came out as the nurse repeatedly slashed and stabbed at Brenna's chest._

Brenna almost leapt from her bed, close to hyperventilating as she frantically examined her surroundings.

Everything was normal.

Brenna gulped and forced her breathing regulate.

_At least it wasn't as bad as last time…_

Brenna shuddered at the mere thought of one of her last nightmares. That time, her adoptive parents were with her. Brenna's arms would be held back by the robed men as a monster approached her parents.

The physique of the monster was clearly female. The monster had four discs sticking out of its head, blades on its arms, and exposed teeth. It also wore what could be considered promiscuous clothes, mostly colored black and red, similar to sadomasochism. The actual skin was pure white.

Just when Brenna thought that the monster would attack her, it turned to her parents and brutally ripped them to shreds.

Brenna fought the urge to vomit; how in the _fuck_ could a dream be that detailed?

Her eyes glanced to the alarm clock; three in the morning.

She slowly got up and tip-toed past her parents' bedroom to the bathroom.

When she looked in the mirror, she was shocked to see how well the red looked on her. It accentuated her blue eyes and brightened them. The small ringlets at the tips were odd-looking, but she shrugged it off and decided to straighten her hair in the morning.

She washed her face and walked back into her bedroom.

The room, now basked with moonlight, was strange.

_Fuck this. Fuck that. Fuck everything…_

Brenna collapsed on her bed, without bothering to cover herself with her blanket and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Brenna slipped the sweetheart neckline, elven style shirt over her pale torso. It was dark grey with black trim, and the sleeves flowed out like the legs of bell bottoms. Under the bust was a black line that connected to a bow in the back. She pulled the black skirt over her black stockings and to her hips where the end of the fabric rested to mid-thigh.

She located a choker, one that Renee had given her for a birthday. It was black and had a Triquetra hanging from the center.

After finding her choker, Brenna quickly zipped up her knee-high boots she had gotten from a renaissance fair a year back.

She grabbed a quick glance from her full-body mirror, making sure that everything was neat.

She even used a little bit of black eyeliner, grey eye shadow and some mascara. Why? She didn't know.

Brenna skidded to a halt at the kitchen, having already brushed her teeth.

Renee handed her a coffee thermos, smiling. "Morning, sunshine."

Brenna smiled and took the thermos. "Morning, Mom."

"Are you eating breakfast this morning?" she asked.

Brenna was about to say no, but the feeling of hunger suddenly struck her. She checked the time; and saw that she had plenty.

"Sure, I'll have some toast." She replied.

A tall man of thirty-one walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, "Morning, beauties." He said and planted a kiss on Brenna's forehead and then one on Renee's lips.

"Hi Ian- I mean… _Jack_." Renee corrected herself.

Jack laughed and grabbed a cup of coffee.

Brenna smiled and sat down at the dining table with her toast. As she sipped her coffee and ate, her mind kept wandering to the dream she had last night.

Jack sat across from her and waved his hand in her face, "You okay, kiddo?"

Brenna's mind went back to reality. She looked at Jack and nodded, "Yeah, just… thinking." She replied and took another bite.

"About what?" Renee sat down between the two.

"Just… a really weird dream last night." Brenna shrugged.

Renee's smile faltered, "Was it a really bad one?"

Brenna shook her head, "It could've been a lot worse."

Jack's smile came back, "Nothing our girl can't handle."

Renee still had a sympathetic expression, but she nodded.

Brenna smiled and finished her breakfast. As she placed her plate in the sink, she grabbed her black pea coat and her messenger bag. "I should probably go. Don't want to be late on my first day of school."

Renee stood and hugged her, "I can't believe you're halfway through with senior year already."

Brenna laughed and hugged back, "Don't worry, I'll probably stay with you guys throughout college." She joked.

Brenna waved to her parents as she walked out the front door, into the cold wind of January. The skies were a lovely shade of grey, threatening to either snow or rain later in the day.

She yawned, waiting for the bus to arrive. When she looked to her left, she noticed a strange man in a light brown trench coat and an olive drab coloured hat. He seemed older, perhaps in his late 50s. He wouldn't stop looking at her.

Finally, the horribly loud yellow vehicle jerked to a stop in front of them.

The bus was louder than she liked.

The last school she had attended, Brenna could walk to her destination. In Portland, Maine, things were different. The kids were loud and obnoxious. Several were even disrespectful towards her.

She shrugged off the stares and smirks after playing her iPod. Truth be told, Brenna didn't give a shit.

* * *

"Good morning, class. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas break. We've got two new students… Brenna Watson?" The Physics teacher, Ms. Larson, was a shorter, heavier set woman. Her bleach blonde, kink-curled hair hung at her shoulders. She was wearing a cheetah print shirt and matching shoes with black dress pants.

Brenna looked up from her desk, "Ma'am?"

"Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Brenna shrugged, "Hi? My name is Brenna Watson. I just moved here and… that's pretty much it."

Ms. Larson frowned, "There's always more than that. Tell us about yourself." She smiled.

"Um… What do you want to know?"

"Do you always dress like a Token Elf wannabe?" A blonde girl, whose face looked more fake than her nails asked with a smart ass tone.

She earned a couple of laughs, but Brenna was unfazed.

She stood up, which silenced some of the kids.

"Alright, you really want to know about me? And by the way, kid, it's Tolkien. If you're trying to embarrass me, do it right," Brenna directed her attention back to the rest of the class. "This is the seventh school I've been to since I was nine. My family and I move around a lot. I've no interest in befriending any of you, so don't bother trying to Facebook or Tweet me, because frankly I don't care. Don't try to remember my name, because I won't remember yours." Brenna looked at the teacher, "How's that?"

By the time, the whole class was silent.

Ms. Larson nodded, "And our next new addition is… Daniel West."

Brenna didn't look behind her, but she heard him say, "How can I follow _that?_" a masculine voice asked.

He earned laughs across the classroom.

Ms. Larson began her lesson. It was something that Brenna had already learned, so it lost her interest.

She had the feeling of being watched.

Brenna nonchalantly looked behind her, pretending to be looking at the clock, and then directed her eyes to the handsome student who locked eyes with her.

He wasn't disgustingly buff, but he had a decent amount of muscle on him. Although Brenna would never admit it, she thought he was pretty damn good-looking. His hair was reddish brown, similar to his eyes only they were darker. He had a light amount of facial hair like most of the guys in the class.

He smiled kindly.

Brenna gave a small smile and quickly turned back to the front and immediately began paying attention to the lesson.

The light blush on her cheeks frustrated her. _I am really not in the position for a stupid high school crush._

* * *

The crowded hallways of her new school had no effect on Brenna.

She could hear various conversations.

"_Yeah, I got so wasted last weekend…"_

"_My Mom is gonna kill me if…"_

"_I'm gonna buy a pregnancy test this afternoon…"_

"_Dude, I think I failed that test…"_

"_I've got work this Friday…"_

Brenna shook her head and sighed; feeling so out of place. _I hope I'm not overloaded with homework tonight…_ _I really want to get started on that book Renee gave me last night…_

She looked down to her schedule; her next class was Psychology with Mr. Mason in room 209.

_Where the hell is that?_

She looked at the nearest classroom number; 113. She was utterly lost.

Brenna fell so deep into her thoughts, that she didn't hear the bell ring, or notice that the halls were mostly empty.

When she looked up, she groaned. _Shit, this is not going to be a good day…_

She felt a strange sensation in her stomach. It wasn't nausea, but it wasn't excitement. It was panic.

Her breathing quickened and the god awful feeling of being watched overcame her.

_Not this again. Please, God, anything but this…_

Brenna's eyes fell to the floor, watching it rip itself like fabric and float upwards, disintegrating into the air. It was like the hallway was shedding its skin to reveal the truth of what it was.

Brenna turned around, to see that the hall behind her was already transitioned into a hellish version of itself.

The fluorescent lights above were changed into swinging lamps with barbed wire wrapped around.

A gargled, choking sound from behind had caught her attention.

Brenna turned on her heel to see… something.

Of all the years she'd seen the world turn to this, this was the first time she had seen the creature at the end of the hall.

Even from a distance, the monster towered over her. It literally had no arms, and the skin across its torso seemed so stretched, one could count each individual rib.

It had no eyes, mouth, nose, or even ears. The skin was stretched to where they should have been. But, under the thin layer, it appeared to actually have a mouth, opening as if it were trying to wail or even just breathe.

Its pelvic bone bulged out, or had the illusion of doing so because its waist was so small.

Its wobbly legs, though clumsy, stumbled towards Brenna at an alarming rate.

She couldn't breathe.

Brenna's legs were frozen in place as she watched the creature limp towards her in horror.

Finally she tore away from her spot and began backwards-walking away as the creature became so close, she could make out the veins on its chest.

When she turned around, she felt strong hands grab her arms. She snapped her eyes shut out of fear, emitting a frightened gasp.

"Are you alright?" she heard a familiar masculine voice ask.

When Brenna opened her eyes, everything was back to normal.

She met eyes with the one who pulled her back to reality.

It was the same student she met eyes with in the previous class.

"Are you alright?" he repeated.

She pulled away from him, "I-I'm fine. What… What are you doing in the hallway?" she asked. She mentally kicked herself for being a bitch already, but considering that she just had one of the worst scares of her life so far, she wasn't in the most pleasant mood.

"Well, I'm lost. Do you know where Math with Anderson is?" he asked.

Brenna shook her head, "No, I don't."

"You're Brenna, right? I'm Daniel."

"Nice to meet you." She said quietly.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again, looking in her eyes.

"I'm fine. Look, I've got to get to Psychology." She said and headed to the first place she saw; the stairs.

Daniel followed her, "Wanna get some coffee?"

Brenna couldn't help but laugh slightly, "We have class." She protested.

"Well, _after_ class?"

_God, this guy is persistent…_

Brenna turned to face him, "Daniel, that introduction I gave in Physics this morning was meant for _everyone._"

Daniel had already seemed a little hurt by her attitude.

She sighed, "It… It's not that I think you're a bad kid or anything like that. I just don't see a point in putting myself in the position of becoming friends with someone only to be moved halfway across the country in a few months." She reasoned.

"You're leaving in a few months?" he inquired with a risen eyebrow and crooked smile.

Brenna held her arms up, "You never know." She turned on her heel to find her next class.

* * *

Renee finished cleaning up after lunch.

In the other room, Jack was sitting on the couch watching the news.

As she finished, Renee waltzed to the living room, sitting next to Jack.

His mind was immediately thrown away from the news, thanks to his beautiful wife. He pulled her closer to him the second she sat down. "You know, we have plenty of time before Brenna gets home." He said seductively as he hungrily kissed her jawline.

Renee laughed and held his face in her hands. Her lips met his in a fire of passion as their tongues battled for dominance.

Jack regretted the moment they had to break apart for air, but his eyes never left the beautiful cinnamon ones. He began kissing her neck as his arms wound themselves around her waist.

Renee looked down, "Jack, I… I really hate to ruin the mood but…" she couldn't find her words.

He sighed and rested his forehead on her chest, "You're on your period, aren't you?" he asked.

"Well, not exactly…" she said, unable to look into her lover's eyes.

"Renee, babe, I don't understand." He lifted her chin up so he could see her face. He noticed the tears beginning to form at her eyes.

"I'm late by four days."

"Wh-What?"

"My period is four days late. I think I'm pregnant." She said.

Jack wasn't a woman, but he understood that Renee's body worked on schedule almost always. "Um, what do you want to do?" he asked.

A tear fell down her cheek, "I don't know. I want to keep it, but what about Brenna? I mean, if something were to happen, me being pregnant could prove to be disastrous."

Jack wiped the tear from her cheek, "Whatever your choice is, I'll support you."

She sniffled and rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his arms around her.

* * *

Brenna sighed in relief. _One day down, 89 more to go._

As she walked down the stairs, she felt the feeling of being watched again. Slowly, she turned to her right, seeing the same man she had seen before school started.

_The hell…?_

Brenna slowly walked to a quieter area and pulled out her cell-phone and dialed Renee's number.

As it rang, Brenna made subtle glimpses in the general direction. He was still there.

"_Brenna?"_

"Mom, I think someone is following me." She said quietly.

"_Are you positive?"_

"Absolutely."

"_Alright… Um go to Central Square Shopping Center. It should be kind of crowded, so they won't try anything. We'll be there soon, okay, sweetie?"_

"Alright Mom, I'm walking there right now." She spoke as she continued down the sidewalk.

"_Brenna, Jack and I love you."_

"I love you guys too. I'll see you soon."

Brenna shoved the phone in her pocket, looking behind her. This time, she couldn't see him.

She sighed in relief, glad that she could breathe for a moment.

Although she was positive that the Order couldn't hack into a cellphone and use the GPS system to track her location, she only had a simple pay phone. Two hundred texts and a thousand minutes a month was all she needed to contact Renee and Jack. Because her phone lacked any internet connection or GPS system, she had to rely on the road signs. She wanted to ask for directions, but there was no telling who could have been sent from the Order or someone normal.

Brenna looked to the sky; the clouds threatening to burst at any moment.

She sighed as the sign for the shopping center came into view.

Out of paranoia, she checked behind her to make sure she wasn't being followed. Nothing.

Quickly, Brenna ran to the shopping center as thunder cracked loudly behind her.

It was crowded, that was for sure. Brenna wasn't exactly comfortable being around so many people, but it was the safest thing at the moment.

She fought the urge to shove in her ear buds to block out the cacophony of voices around her, but she needed to stay coherent in case Jack or Renee called for her.

She sat down at an empty food court table and opened her messenger bag. Though it was the first day of school, none of her teachers had assigned textbooks yet. Her only homework assignment was to read a short packet for her Psychology class on various mental disorders.

Automatically, she began annotating (a result of her junior year Literature class) as she read.

By the time she reached the third paragraph, Brenna was unable to concentrate. Her mind kept wandering back to the monster she saw in the hallway at school.

She shook it out of her head. _Man, I'm gonna have another fucked up nightmare tonight…_

"Are you okay, Miss?" she heard a younger voice inquire.

Brenna turned to see a little boy of about six looking at her with bright green eyes.

She couldn't help but smile, "I'm okay, buddy." She said peacefully.

"_Shawn?"_

He turned to face a woman of about thirty, "Hi Momma." He smiled.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." She looked at Brenna with an apologetic face.

Brenna shook her head, "No, he's fine."

The older woman smiled, taking her son's hand and turning to look at the shopping center directory.

"_Psst!"_

Brenna looked at the little boy, who pointed somewhere.

"He's staring at you." He whispered before following his mother to a store elsewhere.

Brenna turned to where the little boy had pointed, seeing that same damn man that had been following her.

"_Phoenix!"_

Brenna shoved her things in her bag and darted from the table.

"_Phoenix, wait!"_

She dashed into a 'Staff Only' area. _Maybe I can give him the slip here._

She heard the man call for her from behind, but she ignored him and traversed through the long hallway, not stopping until she reached a staff elevator.

"Phoenix, wait, please!"

Brenna grabbed the nearest blunt object –a pipe– and turned to the strange man.

"Who the fuck are you?!" she yelled.

The man held his hands up and backed away slightly. He removed his hat, "My name is Douglas Cartland. I'm a Private Investigator from West Virginia. I was paid to find you. Phoenix-"

"That's not my name!" Brenna cried.

"You're Phoenix Rosemary Danvers, or at least you think you are." He replied. "I first saw you in Haven; kept up the search when the chief of police ended theirs."

Brenna knew what he was talking about. Three weeks after her first night at Renee's brownstone house, a thug of the Order had broken in and attacked her, resulting in Jack stabbing him.

"What… What my parents did then was self-defense!" Brenna shouted, shaking the pipe slightly as she spoke.

"That's not what I'm here for, Phoenix. I was sent by the Order of Valtiel, not knowing why. But… I told them where you are. The Order knows you're here!" he warned her.

"What do you know?" she demanded.

"The Order is from Silent Hill, _where you are from!_ They've been looking for you ever since you appeared on Esmee Danvers' doorstep, and you've been avoiding them since. They know you are here! You have to leave!" he protested.

"Don't worry, I will." Brenna stepped inside the staff elevator and slammed the cage-like door in his face.

"Phoenix, you have to-"

Douglas stopped and Brenna's expression turned to curiosity and horror.

They shifted their attention to where they heard the sound. Soft feet landing on slightly damp tile.

It was a painfully long silence, though it only lasted a few seconds.

A flash of skin, red and black swept across Brenna's vision before her eyes heavily focused on the monster that jumped before them.

Her eyes almost couldn't keep up with the motion that happened next: the monster raised its right arm, which was equipped with a long and sharp blade swung itself towards Douglas, who was still outside the elevator.

He held his hands up out of human habit, only to see his fingers be sliced off by the monster's blade. He shouted in horror, falling backwards to lean against the elevator gate.

Brenna swung the gate open to take him in, barely having enough time to ease his fall while the monster readied itself to make another swing.

She immediately closed the gate, falling backwards against the elevator wall. Without hesitation, the elevator descended.

She slipped her pea coat sleeves off and gave it to Douglas, "Why do they want me?!" She demanded as she made an attempt to tend to his wounds.

"I don't know, they never told me!"

When the elevator stopped, the monster from her nightmare fell on top of the gated ceiling and began ripping away the metal.

Brenna screamed in horror as she dipped further into the corner.

The power went out for half a second, and when it came on again, the monster was gone.

Brenna whimpered slightly as she stood, rushing out of the elevator.

"You have to leave-" Douglas spoke as he stood, but he was interrupted by his own scream.

Brenna cried out in horror as she watched the monster's blade reach from above and impale him. Within seconds, Douglas was pulled upwards. Brenna ran back into the elevator and watched the monster dragging him to a higher floor.

Brenna dashed away, gasping for breath as she swung a janitorial closet door open and slammed it shut behind her.

She huddled into a corner behind a few crates, whimpering and sobbing in petrifying fear. Her erratic breathing was calmed by the electrical hum of the generators.

She clutched her messenger bag, forcing herself to stand upright. She took a few small steps until she opened the door. She stood into the hallway, seeing everything was back to normal.

She fought the urge to sob again and dashed to the emergency exit at the end of the corridor. When she saw stars, Brenna's stomach twisted. _How long have Renee and Jack been looking for me?_

She looked to her left, seeing crime scene tape block the entrance of the mall. None of the officers paid any attention to her.

She caught a glimpse of the stretcher being taken to the ambulance.

A male arm fell to the edge of the stretcher, revealing a hand, missing its fingers.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed Chapter two :) More on the way**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is the third chapter. Enjoy, motherfuckers. **

* * *

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked as he followed Brenna down the sidewalk.

"I-I can't tell you." Brenna spoke as she dialed Jack's number.

_Call dropped._

_Fuck_, Brenna thought as she searched her contacts for her mother's number.

"You can tell me, Brenna."

"No, I can't, because I have no idea what's going on in my head right now." She spoke.

Daniel shrugged off his jacket as Brenna fussed with her phone. "You're cold, what happened to your jacket?" he asked.

Brenna didn't respond; she only held her phone to her ear after dialing Renee's number. It didn't even ring, just went straight to voicemail.

"Mom, call me as soon as you get this; I can't reach Dad." She spoke and hung up.

Daniel draped his coat over her shoulders, receiving a quiet 'Thank you' from her.

The evening wind was chilling, but refreshing to Brenna as she stared at the stars above. She rubbed her eyes, unable to erase the image of Douglas' pained and horrified face as he was lifted from the elevator. The whole event almost made her forget her scare earlier in school.

"So where's home?" he asked.

"Just a couple of blocks away." She replied.

"No, I mean, where are you from?" he corrected himself.

Brenna had to think for a moment, "Uh… my family and I move around a lot, so… nowhere, I guess." She responded honestly.

"That sucks."

She laughed, "Yeah, it does." She agreed.

The two remained silent for a moment, until Brenna spoke again.

"Daniel, do you think there's a difference between dreams and reality?" she asked.

"That's a hell of a topic for small talk," he laughed. "No 'What's your favourite band?' or 'Do you Instagram?'?"

"Fuck Instagram," she rolled her eyes, "What do you think?"

He sighed, "You know, that's something a man from my hometown would ponder.

He'd tell you that there were no dreams, just endless piles of realities stacked on top of each other. Because his ideas were so radical, he got sent to the asylum."

Brenna frowned, "That's kind of extreme."

"Yep. Back in my sweet small town, Old Man Leonard drools in a padded cell." He looked at her, "As for me, it's not something I want to dwell upon, honestly. Life is complicated enough."

Brenna nodded a sign of understanding, but soon found herself staring at the stars once more, this time being able to actually see them without monsters plaguing her memory. "A Perfect Circle." She said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"That's my favourite band; A Perfect Circle." Brenna reiterated. "Actually, Mom has almost every single album from them. Dad is really into Tool, Placebo, and Nine Inch Nails, and has his own little collection of their albums."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think right now, Mer de Noms is in my CD player."

Daniel laughed, "You still have a CD player? And it functions?"

Brenna laughed as well, "Yes, and yes, it's lasted me eight years and I think another three when it was Mom's. I listen to it when I'm at home, and I just use my mp3 when I'm out and about." She explained.

"I see you're quite the music-lover." He smiled at her.

* * *

As they neared her street, Daniel spoke. "You know, Leonard once said 'some people see monsters, other people see people, it all depends on their reality.'"

Brenna frowned, "I don't think I like my reality…"

"Who does?" he reasoned. "I know I'm real. You're pretty real, to me," he spoke. "Or you're just pretty."

Brenna started laughing, "Was that a pick-up line?"

"That bad?" Brenna began to notice a faint pink colour come to his face.

"That was a crime against pick-up lines." She smiled and came to a stop, "Well, this is my street. Thanks for walking me home."

Daniel smiled, "I'd like to do it again."

Brenna's smile faded, "Look Daniel, I'm sorry for being a bitch to you at school earlier, but I really don't want to know anyone here, and you don't want to know me." She said quietly.

"But I _do_ want to know you-"

"No, you don't." Brenna interrupted him and abruptly handed him his jacket, "Thanks." She spoke and turned to go to her house.

"_I'll call you later!" _Daniel spoke as she walked on.

"I didn't give you my number! See you later." Brenna called to him and turned to go into her house.

Her stomach twisted when she saw that the door was already ajar.

_Shit!_

Brenna entered the house and turned to go into the living room, only to stop dead in her tracks.

On the wall beside the bookshelf, was a strange symbol on the wall, drawn in blood next to large letters (also in blood) combining to make the phrase 'COME BACK TO SILENT HILL'.

"Mom?!" she called and dashed into the kitchen, nothing.

"Dad?!" Brenna then ran into the small study which was once a guest room; nothing.

Brenna ran up the stairs, calling for her mother and father, only to receive nothing but the echo of her voice.

Brenna found herself searching every room, until almost sinking down to the floor in front of the staircase, unable to breathe.

_Why them and not me?_

The doorknob rattled.

In a flash, anger and fear filled her entire being. Hot tears fell to her cheeks as she stood, ready to swing the door open and kick the shit out of whoever was on the other side.

"_Brenna? It's Daniel; I heard screaming, are you alright?"_

Brenna furiously wiped away the tears and opened the door.

"I need your help." She said quietly and pointed to the wall.

Daniel walked into her house and looked to where she was pointing. An expression of shock swept across his face, "Is that blood?"

She nodded.

"Did you call the police?"

"I can't-"

"Why not-"

"I just _can't_, alright?!"

Daniel looked back to the blood, "So, where is this 'Silent Hill'?" he asked.

Brenna shook her head, "No- It… It's something I've dreamt about ever since I was young." She looked at the symbol, "And… I've seen that before."

"Where?"

Brenna took his sleeve and headed towards her parents' bedroom, "Come with me." She said and swung the door open.

As Daniel stood in the corner of the room, Brenna opened the closet and pulled out a large rectangular box, "I used to draw things from my nightmares. Mom and Dad would keep them in here." She said as she lifted the lid.

"Are these your parents?" he asked as he looked at a photo.

"My _adoptive_ parents, yes."

"You're adopted?"

"Yeah, I never met my real parents." Brenna took a small binder out, recognizing some of the drawings as hers and set it aside.

She found a letter, titled 'FOR PHOENIX'. She grabbed it and shoved it into her messenger bag before Daniel could notice. "These are some of Mom's notebooks. She did a lot of research from when I was younger so she could understand." Brenna herself had done little research. She was usually too busy with school work.

She pulled out a few more notebooks and stuffed them into her bag so she could read them at a later time. When her hands felt something unfamiliar, she frowned. She pulled out a circular object wrapped up in cloth. She removed the fabric and found herself staring at a tediously designed seal.

"Do you know what that is?" Daniel asked and looked over her shoulder.

"No…" Brenna whispered. "It looks like it's a key." She said when she flipped it over to see engravings. In the messenger bag it went.

She knelt down before the bed and pulled out something wrapped in a simple washrag. It was a hand gun. She loaded it, grabbed the extra clip and carefully placed them in her handbag after checking that the safety was on.

"A gun? What do you need a gun for?"

"_Brenna Watson, this is Detective Trudeau."_

"I thought you didn't call the police." Daniel frowned.

"I didn't, Daniel I need your help! If they catch me, I won't be able to find my parents."

"Catch you? Brenna, what did you do?" he grabbed her shoulders gently, looking into her bright blue eyes.

"_Nothing!"_ Brenna hissed.

He sighed taking a moment to contemplate. For a split second, Brenna was terrified that he would refuse. But, he didn't. "What do you want me to do?"

"_Miss Watson?"_

"Can you drive?" she asked.

"_What?"_

"I can't drive! Can you?" she pushed a set of keys into his hands.

He nodded and Brenna rushed to the door of her parents' bedroom. She quickly and quietly closed it and pointed to the window. "We have to go out that way." She said quietly as she shoved the window open. At this point, she was grateful her parents didn't choose the upstairs bedroom as theirs.

"I'll go first and help you out." Daniel offered and gracefully slid out the window.

Brenna would have felt jealous if it weren't for the police breaking down her front door.

Daniel (literally) lifted her from the window when she was barely sitting on the window sill. "Where's the car?" he asked as Brenna readjusted her skirt (thanking God that it was too dark for him to see).

"It's over here." she took his hand and led him towards the back of her house where the driveway stopped.

* * *

Brenna shifted position in the passenger seat, reading her mothers' notebooks. "It says here that Silent Hill was originally a penal colony, built on ancient burial grounds, taken from the natives." she read aloud.

Daniel shook his head, "Don't build on ancient burial grounds; I thought everyone knew that."

"No kidding." Brenna frowned as she read more, "The town had been run by 'The Order of Valtiel' for the last hundred years, until a huge fire wreaked havoc in the coal mines beneath. The whole town was evacuated..." Brenna read from a newspaper clipping.

"Silent Hill is abandoned?"

"Well..." Brenna read on, "That's not exactly what my parents thought..."

"What?"

She turned a page, "The Order of Valtiel was waiting for a child to be born, who would be the vessel of their God, and bring forth an everlasting paradise, kind of like one of those crazy doomsday cults. They sacrificed a child by the name of Alessa Gillespie..." Brenna stopped in mid-sentence. _Alessa..._

"What is it?" Daniel looked at her for a second.

Brenna shook her head, "Nothing... Um, Mom wrote that from Alessa's pain and hatred, she created the hell that Silent Hill is today, trapping everyone." She wanted to say that it was crazy. She wanted to throw the notebook out the window, but with everything she had dreamt, everything that she had seen, it was impossible for Brenna to _not_ believe what she was reading.

While Daniel was concentrated on the road, Brenna pulled out the letter from her messenger bag and began reading.

_Phoenix,_

_If you are reading this, then something has happened to either your father and/or I. Though we may not be with you, we cannot urge you enough to stay away from Silent Hill. I know how tempting that is, but for the sake of your future, run. You know where to look for emergency money; take that and move far away from here. Ian has left a set of instructions to create a new identity for yourself should he be gone as well._

_We love you so much._

_Mom and Dad_

Brenna sniffled and wiped a tear.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing." she answered quietly.

He sighed, "We need to stop." he said.

"What? Why?" she turned to him.

"We both need to rest for a while." he reasoned.

She nodded, "There's a motel over there."

As they pulled in, Brenna already felt her eyelids drooping. Quickly, the two paid for a room for one night.

Brenna almost collapsed onto one of the beds in the motel room. She was more tired than she thought.

Daniel turned on the lamp and checked out the window to make sure they weren't followed.

"Do you think we're close?" she asked.

"Yeah, pretty close. And... I don't think you should go." he turned to face her.

Brenna sat up; "Daniel, I _have_ to." she stood.

"Your parents said to not go, and for a reason." he argued, "If this place is so dangerous, you should run." Daniel sighed and approached her, "I just don't want anything to happen to you." He pulled her into a hug, and Brenna didn't push him away. For once, it was relieving to open up to someone, something she hadn't done since she was a young girl.

She allowed herself to hug him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

* * *

Brenna was shocked when she realized that she literally fell asleep as soon as her head rested upon the pillow, but when she awoke, she saw Daniel sitting on the edge of his bed with his back turned against her.

She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, noting that it was still dark out.

"You didn't sleep?" she asked.

He didn't turn to face her, "No, I uh… I didn't. And, I still don't think you should go."

Brenna frowned, "I _have _too, Daniel, you don't understand." She countered. She stood and reached for her messenger bag. If she had to walk there, she would. It was only half a mile away.

"I understand-"

"How? How could you understand?!" she cut him off.

Daniel seemed to have been at his edge of patience, ready to say something, but biting it back every time.

"Because I am a child of the Order!" his words were rushed as he threw his hands into the air.

Brenna became silent. She backed away, "What did you say?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I was born and raised in Silent Hill, given the task to convince you to come back." He said.

Brenna, wide-eyed, shook her head. The ice in her eyes came back as she spoke. "That's not possible, the Order is _trapped_ in Silent Hill, there's no way you could have gotten out."

Daniel looked into her eyes, "It is possible, but… it requires pain and sacrifice." He lifted his black sweater to reveal a mark engraved on his chest; The Halo of the Sun. Something that Brenna had seen too many times than she liked to admit.

She gaped at the horrific scar, "You've been lying to me?"

"All we are ever taught in Silent Hill is that Alessa is the great evil of the world; that you are a part of that evil. The only way we can ever get out is to make you come back and destroy her. But… after spending this time with you, I know that you aren't. If you are part of Alessa at all, then… you're definitely the innocent, the part of her that can still feel love."

"Why did you take my parents?" her voice became full of hurt and anger; no amount of good words could make her forget that. As the ice in her eyes hardened, the lamp beside them began flickering and the alarm clock blinked after resetting itself.

"I swear to you, Brenna, I had nothing to do with that-"

"But why them?! Why them and not me?!" she stepped back as Daniel tried to approach her. The beginnings of tears began at her eyes. The radio on the dresser began emitting a light amount of static, seeming only to be white noise at first, but growing more and more.

"Because you have to go back upon your own free will. Taking them, the Order knew you would come back." Brenna could now see that he was holding the medallion she found in the box earlier. "Brenna, you mustn't go back!"

"_I have to!"_ she argued as she turned to the door.

"Wait! Take this."

Brenna sighed and turned back around.

Daniel extended his arm, holding out the seal, "You'll need this," Brenna slowly approached him. "It's the only way you can save your family. The other half is with Leonard Wolf in Brookhaven Asylum," he said.

As her hand reached out to take the seal, he pulled her closer, "Let me come with you."

"No!" she argued and tried to pull her arm away. If he had lied to her once, she couldn't be sure if she could trust him.

The static became louder and all of the lamps were flickering wildly, creating slight buzzing sounds as if they were about to blow up!

"It's not safe for you to go alone!"

"Let me go!"

In the midst of their arguing, the lights cut off entirely. The radio was silent and even the alarm clock shut off.

The two immediately stopped fighting; Daniel still holding her arms, but at this point, Brenna didn't care.

"What's going on?" she asked, slowly her voice rose to a panicked tone.

"The darkness is coming." Unlike her, Daniel's voice seemed calm as if he was expecting for it to happen.

As if on cue, the lights came back on, only Brenna wished they hadn't. The walls were peeling away from the frame of the room.

"Please not this again." She watched in horror as the world fell away, leaving behind its rusted frame and darkened past, "How do you make this stop?!" she pulled away from him.

"This isn't me, Brenna. This is _you_."

"Me? How in the hell am I doing this?!"

"You're close to Silent Hill; it's like a chemical reaction. You're close to Alessa, and it's allowing the darkness to come through."

Brenna felt sick to her stomach. _Am I really causing this hell?!_

Daniel reached to hold her face, forcing her eyes to meet with his, "Listen to me, I can help you. I know where your parents are."

A curved blade reached forward, sinking into Daniel's right shoulder. Before he had a chance to even yelp in pain, the blade pulled him backwards.

"Daniel!" Brenna reached for him, only to come face-to-face with the same monster that had terrorized her in the mall. It took the blade from its other arm, and with the blunt edge, knocked Brenna to the ground.

* * *

When Brenna awoke, the world was piecing itself back together. An early morning light basked the room in a cool palette of colours.

She weakly sat up, touching the spot on the side of her head. She winced immediately. _Damn, I'm lucky that didn't kill me…_

Brenna stumbled to her feet, realizing that she was still holding the seal. Her eyes drifted to it, and then to her messenger bag which was still on her bed.

She shoved the seal into her bag and slung it over her shoulders. She checked the bag; the gun was still in it.

After taking a deep breath, Brenna opened the door to leave the motel room. She gaped at the outside environment.

Everything was covered with ash. It was so foggy that she could almost barely see the motel sign. Everything in this world was so… dead.

She gulped, _Fuck it, I'll walk._

* * *

**Well, this update wasn't quite as long as the first two chapters, but I hope it's still good, nonetheless. As soon as I finish this story, my surprise for you guys will be ready (hopefully). Well, read, review, favourite, like my page, whatever. Have a wonderful day =)**


End file.
